01Jul14

The Islamic State's rivals in Syria reject announced Caliphate

Nine leading rebel groups in Syria have rejected the Islamic State's claim that
it has established a Caliphate stretching across parts of Iraq and Syria.

In a statement released online, the nine groups say "the announcement by the
rejectionists [the Islamic State] of a caliphate is null and void," both "legally
and logically." The nine groups, all of which have long been opposed to the
Islamic State, say that the announced Caliphate will not change how they deal
with the organization.

The signatories warn other jihadist individuals and organizations not to support
the Islamic State. They argue that the decision to announce a Caliphate is
self-serving and an attempt to "abort the blessed revolutions in Syria and Iraq."

Two of the nine signatories are the Islamic Front, a powerful rebel coalition
that includes the al Qaeda-linked Ahrar al Sham, and the Majlis Shura al
Mujahideen (MSM) in Deir Izzor. The MSM is an alliance of groups, including
the Al Nusrah Front, that is opposed to the Islamic State in eastern Syria.

On its Twitter feed, the MSM posted a link to the statement rejecting the
Islamic State's announced caliphate. The MSM says the Islamic State's
announcement is part of "a systematic campaign to distort sharia terms" and
the Islamic State has "distorted jihad, sharia, and [the rules for] punishment,
and now they want to distort the Caliphate."

In addition to the Islamic Front and the MSM, the sharia councils of seven
other groups signed the rejection of the Islamic State's Caliphate.

The reaction from the Al Nusrah Front's leaders was equally dismissive. The
Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda's official branch in Syria, grew out of the Islamic
State's predecessor organizations, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) and the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS). Despite these common roots, the Al
Nusrah Front and the Islamic State have been openly at odds since last year.

In a series of tweets in both English and Arabic, Abu Sulayman al Muhajir, a
top sharia official in the Al Nusrah Front, sharply criticized the Islamic State's
announcement. While using the hashtag #Khilafah_Proclaimed in his tweets,
Abu Sulayman argued that the Islamic State's failure to consult jihadi leaders
before making the announcement "is a clear breach of Islam."

"The situation has not changed at all here," Abu Sulayman said in one tweet,
referring to Syria. "Only difference I see is there is a stronger 'Islamic'
justification for them [the Islamic State] to kill Muslims." The Islamic State has
long justified the killing of other rebel fighters and leaders by arguing that it is
the only legitimate authority in Iraq and Syria.

Abu Sulayman, who is from Australia, served as a mediator during al Qaeda's
early attempts to reconcile the ISIS with other jihadist groups in Syria. When
those efforts failed, he became a vocal critic of the ISIS and is now a staunch
opponent of the Islamic State.

Two other senior Al Nusrah Front officials who are active on Twitter also
quickly denounced the Islamic State. One of them, Sami al Uraydi, said the
Islamic State's announcement "is really a declaration of war against Muslims,
rather than [the establishment of] an Islamic Caliphate." Uraydi levied a
criticism similar to Abu Sulayman's as well, arguing that the Caliphate is
supposed to be governed by rules agreed upon by Muslim scholars and not
according to the demands of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic
State.

Another Al Nusrah Front official, Al Gharib al Muhajir al Qahtani, dismissed the
Islamic State's Caliphate as "imaginary." According to al Qahtani, the Islamic
State previously failed to procure the support of "many students of [Islamic]
knowledge and leaders." Thus, the group has now become obsessed with the
idea of a Caliphate, hoping to earn the jihadist legitimacy it lacked when it was
merely a state.

The criticisms of the Islamic State's announcement are unsurprising. In reality,
the battle lines between the Islamic State and its rivals in Iraq and Syria were
drawn long ago.

[Source: By Thomas Joscelyn, The Long War Journal, NJ, 01Jul14]

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